The number of robberies and hijackings in the State rose by some 28 per cent last year, new figures show.
Some 3,193 such crimes were recorded last year, compared to 2,491 the previous year, according to the Central Statistics Office figures on recorded crime. In the fourth quarter of last year, there were 506 robberies from the person, a rise of 46 per cent on the same period in 2009.
In total last year, there were 1,942 robberies perpetrated against individuals, compared to 1,310 in 2009 – an increase of 48.2 per cent.
Separately, the number of recorded sexual offences in the State increased by more than 60 per cent last year due to a review of all such cases by An Garda Siochana.
Some 2,376 sexual offences were recorded in 2010, compared to 1,482 the previous year.
The statistics agency said caution should be exercised in interpreting the rise in the figures, saying it was mainly due to an “ongoing review” of all cases involving alleged sexual offences reported to gardaí.
It said some of the offences will have occurred “at some distance in the past”. The review is being undertaken in conjunction with the Garda policy on the investigation of sexual crime, introduced last April.
There was a decrease in the number of homicides last year, with 79 such crimes recorded compared to 88 the previous year. There were 54 murders in 2010 compared to 56 in 2009, and two manslaughter offences compared to four the previous year.
The number of kidnapping and related offences, such as abduction, was down by 10 per cent last year to 131.
Burglaries were down marginally in 2010 on the previous year from 26,911 to 24,502. Figures for aggravated burglary for the full year were down to 333 from 368 in 2009 – a drop of 9.5 per cent.
Controlled drug offences were also down. Some 20,002 such offences were recorded in the full year, compared to 21,983 in 2009. The number of recorded offences of drug possession for personal use dropped by 15 per cent in the fourth quarter last year, compared to the same period in 2009.
The number of ofences relating to drug cultivation and manufacturing, however, more than doubled from 74 to 151 beteen quarter four 2009 and quarter four last year.
Fine Gael justice spokesman Alan Shatter described the increase in robberies as "disturbing" and said it was "a direct link to the economic crisis that besets the country".
"With the economy in crisis and there having been a complete absence of leadership in tackling crime for the last two years, unscrupulous criminals will inevitably target vulnerable people," Mr Shatter said.
He said Fianna Fail claimed in election literature that it had, in Government, increased the number of gardaí to 14,500 "but fail to mention that they intend to reduce Garda numbers to 13,000 in their four-year plan".
"That is just plain dishonest and is yet another example of their determination to mislead the public."
Minister for Justice Brendan Smith welcomed the decrease in nine of the 14 crime groups for which figures were published today, compared to the fourth quarter in 2009.
"The picture presented by these figures reflects the continuing commitment and focused policing of An Garda Síochána," he said.
"Although the public finances are under considerable pressure, the Garda budget is nevertheless greater than the expenditure outturn for 2010. The Garda Commissioner and I are determined that the resources available will be prioritised on frontline services and utilised with the greatest degree of efficiency achievable."